June 1, 2015
Feb 21, 2017 4:07:12 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Feb 21, 2017 4:07:12 GMT -5
(Rebellion Aftermath: OFF CAMERA: 06-01-2015)
Opening the door, he took two steps inside and dropped his bag by the door, walking gingerly towards the bed, slowly sitting down on the edge. Despite being victorious earlier in the night, he was not in a good mood. The Pride championship, that was always over his shoulder like a badge of honour, slowly slid down his torso as he pulled on the strap, setting it out beside him, taking up the rest of the room as he rubbed his head. He’d been jumped on, assaulted with weapons, thrown into solid steel, but his worst wound was mental, one that simply wouldn’t heal from a few days rest. He had been humiliated on television by the one person in the world he trusted more than anyone else, and he was laughed at, constantly throughout the night for it. The ride out of the arena was an awkward one, for sure, as they hadn’t exchanged two words. She had tried to apologize several times, and they were still able to execute his plan, for the most part, they had been working on all week, but since the match had ended eye contact had been a rarity for them, despite her efforts.
Nessa stood in the doorway, looking everywhere but at him as she pretended to fiddle with her purse before finally turning to close the door. “Matt,” the fact that she called him that shortened version lent a sort of gravity to her words that matched with the look in her eyes. “Please, talk to me. Even if it’s just to…” she paused, switching tracks in mid-sentence, “I’m sorry, okay? Now that we’re behind closed doors… I can say that and you know I mean it. Honestly and truly… I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Staring a hole in the floor, he heard what she said, thought it over for a moment, realizing that seething over the incident wasn’t going to actually solve anything. Slowly, he turned to her. “You didn’t,” he repeated, not even questioning it, just letting the statement hang out there for a moment. “That would be a pretty shitty thing to mean to happen, don’t you agree?” He wasn’t even making eye contact with her, just looking over in her general vicinity.
“That’s…” she shook her head, letting her purse fall from her hand so that she could fold her arms across her chest, wrapping hands around her arms as though to ward off the chill. It wasn’t just the air conditioning that was a bit too cold for her liking. “You know what I meant. The last thing I want to do is fight with you,” she sniffled, her eyes still red-rimmed from the earlier allergy attack.
He glanced up at her, hearing her, though it wasn’t her words per say that got his attention, it was her sniffle. She wouldn’t dare do it again, would she? He noticed her whole disposition now as he thought about it, seeing how cold and distant he was being towards her, though she did deserve it, didn’t she? “Do you even realize what you did back there?” He asked her, placing his hand on the plate of the championship beside him as he looked up at her, needing to hear that she understood the ramifications.
She nodded, tears filling her eyes, “I do, honey. I disrespected the title belt and I…” she swallowed hard, staring at him, “m-made them laugh at you.”
“The title belt, the very interview set up and me, you disrespected.” He replied coolly, making sure each item on the list had a moment’s pause afterward to let them sink in. “Being mocked is one thing, enough idiots try and do that to me on a daily basis, but to have the cause of it be you? That’s the worst part.” He finished, picking up the title and absent-mindedly rubbing the plate as if the memories were still splattered across it.
“It was an accident,” Nessa whispered, shaking her head again. “I don’t know what you want me to say. The only allergy medication that works right now makes me groggy and the last thing I wanted to be was a Benadryl zombie out there for you, Matt. I… you know I’d never do anything to undermine your championship reign.”
“Nessa.” He started, getting up off the bed to demonstrate. “You literally had three hundred and sixty degrees to choose from,” he said, turning around like it was a huge revelation. “And you chose to aim right at me, and not only me, but the most important thing I own.” He slung the title over his shoulder as he said that, glaring at her now for an explanation.
“You had the tissue,” she said in a small voice, “the one I handed to you. I was going to ask you for it but it came on too fast.” Her voice was so low at the end it was almost inaudible. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“You know what really gets me, though? Interviewing people was like, your job for a decade, I thought you were the utmost professional. What you did, literally sneezing at the Pride championship, undermined everything I was trying to do.” He was starting to get worked up just thinking about it.
Her eyes narrowed, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “Did… did you just say I was awful at my job? I’m sorry… I think I heard you wrong because… are you fucking kidding me right now?!”
Matt just stood there for a moment, baffled at her defensive stance. “Did that look like the actions of a good interviewer? Have you seen...uhh...I don’t even remember another interviewer in SVW but I doubt they go around sneezing on their subjects!” His voice was getting louder, which was certainly out of the ordinary for the Straight Shooter.
On the defensive now, her claws came out-- metaphorically speaking. She knew that he was upset about the public humiliation, but the fact that he cared more about the damned title than her health was pretty telling. So congested she could barely breathe, she wasn’t sure if it was brought on by the tears in her eyes or another impending attack but that didn’t stop her from stabbing a finger in the air, pointing at him. “I dunno, you seemed pretty content to let Hayley Dark bust in on you in the locker room. I bet you were disappointed that was recorded… maybe you could have handed her a knife so she could stab me in the back otherwise!”
“You have got to be kidding!” He started, gently taking the title off of his shoulder and placing it on the bed. Having secured its safety, he turned to the blonde woman who’d suddenly found her voice. “How on earth is me talking to some bimbo betraying you? If I wanted to stab you, as you put it, I wouldn’t need to be behind your back, I’m quite content doing it in front of your face, but then again, I wouldn’t sabotage you like you did me. Guess I just care about you more.”
“Care about me more?!” She was incredulous, “really? You didn’t even ask me how I was feeling. Not even a single syllable on that front. No. Instead you were all concerned that I might have gotten some saliva on your stu--”
He spoke up quickly. “Unless you were going to say ‘stupendous’, I would stop right there, and there was no might about it, even the foreigners in the back of the line could see your disrespect dripping down my title.”
“Disrespect?! HAH!” She almost shrieked the fake laugh, “that belt was the best damn thing that ever happened in my career, Matthew, and you know it! Don’t you dare accuse me of something so unbelievably awful!”
“The best thing, mind you, that you wouldn’t have had without me, or did you forget that? I stood by your side day in and day out and I made sure everyone knew you were a big deal, the biggest until you lost the title. All I asked, ever, was that you do the same to me, but instead, you’d rather draw the spotlight to yourself, that’s why you did it, admit it.” He said, sounding more and more paranoid as this went on, which may be the actual root of the issue.
“Why would I do that?” She stared at him in horror, “why on Earth would I try to steal your spotlight?”
“I don’t know, but between that guy hitting on you and then you causing that scene, it seemed like all the attention was on you. When I’m doing things for Val, I don’t take--”
“When you’re doing things for… Val?!” Her voice rose an octave, bordering on shrill, “oh no you didn’t just compare me to that overbearing, gold-digging SKANK and then try to imply I’m lacking in social graces!”
Matt blinked, staring at Nessa as she interrupted him, then went out to denigrate Valentina, but defending Valentina didn’t seem like the right thing to do here, that would be an argument for another time. “I was actually comparing you to me, if you were listening. Unless, of course, that would equally offend you, which would be good to know, all things considered.”
She opened her mouth as though she was going to reply and instead shook her head, sniffling again. “You know what? Just forget it. I’m done trying to reason with you. It’s just shades of Matt Ford all over again. Next you’ll be spooning the thing… or worse yet, talking to it. Sorry. I’ve already punched a ticket on that crazy train and it’s not worth it.” She turned away, feeling like her nose was about to start dripping. There were tissues in her purse.
“Did you…” he started, seeing her turn away from him, walking right up to her. “Just say I’m like that other Matt? How dare you!” He said, still talking to the back of her head. He took her hand and spun her around to face him, somewhat forcefully but not with the intention to harm. “You’re going to compare me to someone you absolutely can’t stand and want literally nothing to do with, just what are you saying Nessa?” He asked, clearly upset at the comparison but still a hint of worry in his tone.
“I’m saying you’re acting like an asshole,” she said the words softly enough, tears swimming in her eyes as she stared at him. “Is that clear enough for you or do you need me to spell it out further? You’re being an absolute psycho… you’re making Mika look perfectly sane and she takes all sorts of mood-altering drugs, for crying out loud!” She jerked away from him, very deliberately breaking eye contact as she started sniffling again.
Mika? That might have been a lower simile than Ford was. “I am nothing like Mika and you know that!” He stated rather harshly; realizing how he was coming off, he took a deep breath. “Okay, listen, I’m…” He paused, looking at her. “Could you at least look at me when I’m talking?” He asked, placing his hand under her chin to turn her eyes back to him. Her chin was quivering, eyes still welling with tears and she looked like she might break down at any second because she was biting her lip, hard. “Maybe I’ve been overreacting about this whole thing, and really, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if we weren’t in front of an entire island of freaks, not to mention the world. You know I care about you and your health, I’m just not used to being embarrassed like that, especially by someone who, like I said, I care about to the extent that I care about you.” He took a breath, looking into her eyes now. “So what I’m trying to say is -”
“Matt--” her attempt at warning was cut off and with him still holding her chin she couldn’t really pull away, “AHHCHOO!” The sneeze hit him more in the chest than the face since he’s quite a bit taller than her but it was still pretty disgusting, all things considered. Nessa’s eyes widened, a look of horror on her face immediately.
Needless to say he no longer wanted to finish his sentence, just looking down at his chest, slowly bringing his hand up to wipe off his chin and throat. “Really?” he said, now meeting Nessa’s wide eyes. “That’s your...” He stopped, not even wanting to go into it right now, knowing he would say something he’d likely regret later. “I think we need some time apart; you should leave.” He said coldly, no emotion whatsoever coming out in those last words, walking right past her and opening the door, leaving no question about what he said.
She knew better than to say anything more, pausing only to pick up her purse from the floor,. She expected that little bend to be his undoing but he wasn’t even paying attention, leaving her no choice but to follow through and leave. “Matt,” her voice shook as she tried to force the words out, “I…” she turned back towards the door but it was already closing in her face. Sighing, trying to blink away the tears, she lifted her hand and rested her palm on the now-closed door. “I love you.” He probably couldn’t hear her through it and it was too little, too late anyhow but she still had to complete the thought. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she made her way towards the elevator, trying to remember which one of her credit cards wasn’t so maxed out that she could book a second room for the night.
Inside, Matt picked up his bag and grabbed his phone, turning it off. He needed time to cool off and going on Twitter to run his mouth wasn’t going to help. Taking his shirt off, he walked into the bathroom, getting ready for a shower after the mini one he’d just gotten. “She should know better,” he said to himself, trying to justify his actions outloud. “I do so much for her, she should be more careful.” Matt got in the shower after fully undressing, thinking over everything Nessa had said and done.
Opening the door, he took two steps inside and dropped his bag by the door, walking gingerly towards the bed, slowly sitting down on the edge. Despite being victorious earlier in the night, he was not in a good mood. The Pride championship, that was always over his shoulder like a badge of honour, slowly slid down his torso as he pulled on the strap, setting it out beside him, taking up the rest of the room as he rubbed his head. He’d been jumped on, assaulted with weapons, thrown into solid steel, but his worst wound was mental, one that simply wouldn’t heal from a few days rest. He had been humiliated on television by the one person in the world he trusted more than anyone else, and he was laughed at, constantly throughout the night for it. The ride out of the arena was an awkward one, for sure, as they hadn’t exchanged two words. She had tried to apologize several times, and they were still able to execute his plan, for the most part, they had been working on all week, but since the match had ended eye contact had been a rarity for them, despite her efforts.
Nessa stood in the doorway, looking everywhere but at him as she pretended to fiddle with her purse before finally turning to close the door. “Matt,” the fact that she called him that shortened version lent a sort of gravity to her words that matched with the look in her eyes. “Please, talk to me. Even if it’s just to…” she paused, switching tracks in mid-sentence, “I’m sorry, okay? Now that we’re behind closed doors… I can say that and you know I mean it. Honestly and truly… I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Staring a hole in the floor, he heard what she said, thought it over for a moment, realizing that seething over the incident wasn’t going to actually solve anything. Slowly, he turned to her. “You didn’t,” he repeated, not even questioning it, just letting the statement hang out there for a moment. “That would be a pretty shitty thing to mean to happen, don’t you agree?” He wasn’t even making eye contact with her, just looking over in her general vicinity.
“That’s…” she shook her head, letting her purse fall from her hand so that she could fold her arms across her chest, wrapping hands around her arms as though to ward off the chill. It wasn’t just the air conditioning that was a bit too cold for her liking. “You know what I meant. The last thing I want to do is fight with you,” she sniffled, her eyes still red-rimmed from the earlier allergy attack.
He glanced up at her, hearing her, though it wasn’t her words per say that got his attention, it was her sniffle. She wouldn’t dare do it again, would she? He noticed her whole disposition now as he thought about it, seeing how cold and distant he was being towards her, though she did deserve it, didn’t she? “Do you even realize what you did back there?” He asked her, placing his hand on the plate of the championship beside him as he looked up at her, needing to hear that she understood the ramifications.
She nodded, tears filling her eyes, “I do, honey. I disrespected the title belt and I…” she swallowed hard, staring at him, “m-made them laugh at you.”
“The title belt, the very interview set up and me, you disrespected.” He replied coolly, making sure each item on the list had a moment’s pause afterward to let them sink in. “Being mocked is one thing, enough idiots try and do that to me on a daily basis, but to have the cause of it be you? That’s the worst part.” He finished, picking up the title and absent-mindedly rubbing the plate as if the memories were still splattered across it.
“It was an accident,” Nessa whispered, shaking her head again. “I don’t know what you want me to say. The only allergy medication that works right now makes me groggy and the last thing I wanted to be was a Benadryl zombie out there for you, Matt. I… you know I’d never do anything to undermine your championship reign.”
“Nessa.” He started, getting up off the bed to demonstrate. “You literally had three hundred and sixty degrees to choose from,” he said, turning around like it was a huge revelation. “And you chose to aim right at me, and not only me, but the most important thing I own.” He slung the title over his shoulder as he said that, glaring at her now for an explanation.
“You had the tissue,” she said in a small voice, “the one I handed to you. I was going to ask you for it but it came on too fast.” Her voice was so low at the end it was almost inaudible. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“You know what really gets me, though? Interviewing people was like, your job for a decade, I thought you were the utmost professional. What you did, literally sneezing at the Pride championship, undermined everything I was trying to do.” He was starting to get worked up just thinking about it.
Her eyes narrowed, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “Did… did you just say I was awful at my job? I’m sorry… I think I heard you wrong because… are you fucking kidding me right now?!”
Matt just stood there for a moment, baffled at her defensive stance. “Did that look like the actions of a good interviewer? Have you seen...uhh...I don’t even remember another interviewer in SVW but I doubt they go around sneezing on their subjects!” His voice was getting louder, which was certainly out of the ordinary for the Straight Shooter.
On the defensive now, her claws came out-- metaphorically speaking. She knew that he was upset about the public humiliation, but the fact that he cared more about the damned title than her health was pretty telling. So congested she could barely breathe, she wasn’t sure if it was brought on by the tears in her eyes or another impending attack but that didn’t stop her from stabbing a finger in the air, pointing at him. “I dunno, you seemed pretty content to let Hayley Dark bust in on you in the locker room. I bet you were disappointed that was recorded… maybe you could have handed her a knife so she could stab me in the back otherwise!”
“You have got to be kidding!” He started, gently taking the title off of his shoulder and placing it on the bed. Having secured its safety, he turned to the blonde woman who’d suddenly found her voice. “How on earth is me talking to some bimbo betraying you? If I wanted to stab you, as you put it, I wouldn’t need to be behind your back, I’m quite content doing it in front of your face, but then again, I wouldn’t sabotage you like you did me. Guess I just care about you more.”
“Care about me more?!” She was incredulous, “really? You didn’t even ask me how I was feeling. Not even a single syllable on that front. No. Instead you were all concerned that I might have gotten some saliva on your stu--”
He spoke up quickly. “Unless you were going to say ‘stupendous’, I would stop right there, and there was no might about it, even the foreigners in the back of the line could see your disrespect dripping down my title.”
“Disrespect?! HAH!” She almost shrieked the fake laugh, “that belt was the best damn thing that ever happened in my career, Matthew, and you know it! Don’t you dare accuse me of something so unbelievably awful!”
“The best thing, mind you, that you wouldn’t have had without me, or did you forget that? I stood by your side day in and day out and I made sure everyone knew you were a big deal, the biggest until you lost the title. All I asked, ever, was that you do the same to me, but instead, you’d rather draw the spotlight to yourself, that’s why you did it, admit it.” He said, sounding more and more paranoid as this went on, which may be the actual root of the issue.
“Why would I do that?” She stared at him in horror, “why on Earth would I try to steal your spotlight?”
“I don’t know, but between that guy hitting on you and then you causing that scene, it seemed like all the attention was on you. When I’m doing things for Val, I don’t take--”
“When you’re doing things for… Val?!” Her voice rose an octave, bordering on shrill, “oh no you didn’t just compare me to that overbearing, gold-digging SKANK and then try to imply I’m lacking in social graces!”
Matt blinked, staring at Nessa as she interrupted him, then went out to denigrate Valentina, but defending Valentina didn’t seem like the right thing to do here, that would be an argument for another time. “I was actually comparing you to me, if you were listening. Unless, of course, that would equally offend you, which would be good to know, all things considered.”
She opened her mouth as though she was going to reply and instead shook her head, sniffling again. “You know what? Just forget it. I’m done trying to reason with you. It’s just shades of Matt Ford all over again. Next you’ll be spooning the thing… or worse yet, talking to it. Sorry. I’ve already punched a ticket on that crazy train and it’s not worth it.” She turned away, feeling like her nose was about to start dripping. There were tissues in her purse.
“Did you…” he started, seeing her turn away from him, walking right up to her. “Just say I’m like that other Matt? How dare you!” He said, still talking to the back of her head. He took her hand and spun her around to face him, somewhat forcefully but not with the intention to harm. “You’re going to compare me to someone you absolutely can’t stand and want literally nothing to do with, just what are you saying Nessa?” He asked, clearly upset at the comparison but still a hint of worry in his tone.
“I’m saying you’re acting like an asshole,” she said the words softly enough, tears swimming in her eyes as she stared at him. “Is that clear enough for you or do you need me to spell it out further? You’re being an absolute psycho… you’re making Mika look perfectly sane and she takes all sorts of mood-altering drugs, for crying out loud!” She jerked away from him, very deliberately breaking eye contact as she started sniffling again.
Mika? That might have been a lower simile than Ford was. “I am nothing like Mika and you know that!” He stated rather harshly; realizing how he was coming off, he took a deep breath. “Okay, listen, I’m…” He paused, looking at her. “Could you at least look at me when I’m talking?” He asked, placing his hand under her chin to turn her eyes back to him. Her chin was quivering, eyes still welling with tears and she looked like she might break down at any second because she was biting her lip, hard. “Maybe I’ve been overreacting about this whole thing, and really, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if we weren’t in front of an entire island of freaks, not to mention the world. You know I care about you and your health, I’m just not used to being embarrassed like that, especially by someone who, like I said, I care about to the extent that I care about you.” He took a breath, looking into her eyes now. “So what I’m trying to say is -”
“Matt--” her attempt at warning was cut off and with him still holding her chin she couldn’t really pull away, “AHHCHOO!” The sneeze hit him more in the chest than the face since he’s quite a bit taller than her but it was still pretty disgusting, all things considered. Nessa’s eyes widened, a look of horror on her face immediately.
Needless to say he no longer wanted to finish his sentence, just looking down at his chest, slowly bringing his hand up to wipe off his chin and throat. “Really?” he said, now meeting Nessa’s wide eyes. “That’s your...” He stopped, not even wanting to go into it right now, knowing he would say something he’d likely regret later. “I think we need some time apart; you should leave.” He said coldly, no emotion whatsoever coming out in those last words, walking right past her and opening the door, leaving no question about what he said.
She knew better than to say anything more, pausing only to pick up her purse from the floor,. She expected that little bend to be his undoing but he wasn’t even paying attention, leaving her no choice but to follow through and leave. “Matt,” her voice shook as she tried to force the words out, “I…” she turned back towards the door but it was already closing in her face. Sighing, trying to blink away the tears, she lifted her hand and rested her palm on the now-closed door. “I love you.” He probably couldn’t hear her through it and it was too little, too late anyhow but she still had to complete the thought. Slinging her purse over her shoulder, she made her way towards the elevator, trying to remember which one of her credit cards wasn’t so maxed out that she could book a second room for the night.
Inside, Matt picked up his bag and grabbed his phone, turning it off. He needed time to cool off and going on Twitter to run his mouth wasn’t going to help. Taking his shirt off, he walked into the bathroom, getting ready for a shower after the mini one he’d just gotten. “She should know better,” he said to himself, trying to justify his actions outloud. “I do so much for her, she should be more careful.” Matt got in the shower after fully undressing, thinking over everything Nessa had said and done.
